South Carolina Dumps Common Core But 'Doesn't Have Time' to Do Major Rewrite

It's déjà vu all over again. South Carolina, one of three states that recently dumped the common core, is setting out to write standards, but is already signaling that they might not be all that different from the ones they threw overboard.

According to a report by ThePost and Courier and the Associated Press, Melanie Barton, executive director of the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, reassured the General Assembly on Monday that the standards will be ready by the time they reconvene in January. But because the project is on a "fast track," the report said, Barton told lawmakers not to expect much more than "changes."

"I wouldn't say it's going to be a total rewrite," Barton said. "We don't have time to do that."

South Carolina, you might recall, passed a law recently that nixed its use of the Common Core State Standards. It also withdrew from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Just how "homegrown" its new standards are remains to be seen.

South Carolina is among the 43 states that have gotten waivers from No Child Left Behind. One of the requirements for states to get and keep waivers is demonstrating that they have "college and career ready standards."

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